The Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) are reportedly preparing to part ways with team mentor Zaheer Khan ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. Zaheer took over the mentor’s role from Gautam Gambhir and also served as LSG’s bowling coach after Morne Morkel joined the Indian national team’s support staff.
Mixed Performances Since LSG’s Debut
LSG impressed in their first two seasons, reaching the playoffs in IPL 2022 and IPL 2023. However, the following years saw a dip in form, with the team finishing seventh in both the IPL 2024 and IPL 2025 standings.
Ahead of the 2025 season, the franchise made headlines by acquiring Rishabh Pant for a record INR 27 crore in the mega auction, replacing KL Rahul as captain. Despite the high-profile signing, results failed to improve, with the team ending the season with six wins and eight losses from 14 matches.
“𝑳𝑺𝑮 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒁𝒂𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑲𝒉𝒂𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝑹𝑷𝑺𝑮 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑’𝒔 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔,” 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒇𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂.𝒄𝒐𝒎.
Bigger Responsibilities for the New Mentor
According to reports, LSG’s owner, Sanjiv Goenka, currently in the United Kingdom for The Hundred, will soon appoint a Director of Cricket. This position will oversee year-round operations for all of RPSG Group’s cricket franchises, including Durban Super Giants in the SA20 and Manchester Originals in The Hundred.
Zaheer Khan’s departure would mark the end of a significant chapter in his coaching career. Before joining LSG, Zaheer was part of the Mumbai Indians setup from 2018 to 2022, first as Director of Cricket and later as head of global development. During this tenure, Mumbai clinched IPL titles in 2019 and 2020 under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑰𝑷𝑳 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑’𝒔 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒔,” 𝒂 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅.
Bharat Arun Joins as Bowling Coach
Adding to the changes, LSG recently appointed Bharat Arun as their new bowling coach. The 62-year-old has a wealth of experience, having served as India’s bowling coach during their historic overseas Test victories, before joining the Kolkata Knight Riders, where he played a pivotal role in their success.
As LSG undergoes a significant shake-up in leadership and structure, the upcoming months will be crucial in determining the franchise’s direction ahead of IPL 2026.
Also Read: Sanju Samson Trade Saga Heats Up — CSK Says No to RR’s Swap Proposal
